Agitator



June 27, 1950 J. M. PRYOR EIAL 2,513,107

AGITATOR Filed July 13, 1946 Patented June 27, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE AGITATOB Joseph M. Pryor and Bruno Cescato, Chicago, Ill.

Application Jul 13, 1946, Serial No. 683,341

Claims.

This invention relates to agitating apparatus,

and more particularly to apparatus adaptedto agitate material within adrum or other container, as in a paint drum.

One feature of this invention is that it provides improved agitatingapparatus, and more particularly means for initially moving or looseningmaterial at the bottom of a container and then tor carrying it on up andthoroughly intermixing it through the remainder of the container;another feature of this invention is that it provides lower agitatingmeans rotatable about a vertical axis and preferably disposed angularlyof said axis; a further feature of this invention is that it providesupper agitating means rotatable about a horizontal axis above said lowermeans; yet a further feature of this invention is that it providescommon drive means fQr rotating said lower and u per agitating means;and still another feature of this invention is that it providesagitating apparatus which is readily and easily assembled within a drumof the conventional type without riveting, screwing, or bolting partstogether after the drum is assembled, for the apparatus so designed thatall the parts fit together and are held in position upon assembly of thedrum. Other features and advantages of my invention will appear from thefollowing specification, and from the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a drum including my improvedagitating apparatus; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through theapparatus shown in Fig. 1, taken on the line 2.-Z of Fig, 1; and Fig. 3is a vertical fragmentary sectional View k n long the line 33 of Fig.with he 91,

crating crank removed and a cap inserted to seal the drum.

Materials such as paint are often stored relatively large containers, asfor example, 55 gallon drums, a d ile so storedt lead. or oth r h avyportions of such material separate from the oils or lighter portions andsettle at the bottom of said drum. while the oils rise to the top. Con-Sequently, before such, ater al can be used afte standing in the drum,the lead and oils must be stirred into a en rally h mo eneous mi t re Ina large siz d um contain n pain his necessa y mixin is a d ul an ime cosuming ask.

and various attempts have been made to provide means whereby completemixing can be obtained with a m n mum of. t me and la or, lrior amevices for this purpose usually comprise one or more spiral bladesextending vertically through the and rotatable about a vertical axisthereinuch device while iac tating the mixing to a great extent, stillrequire a great deal of labor and an excessively long mixing periodbefore the heavy lead at the bottom of the drum is completely mixed withthe oil.

We have devised and are here disclosing and claiming agitating apparatuswhich represents a distinct improvement over all such prior art devices,and comprises lower agitating means rotatable about a vertical axis andpositioned angularly thereto, and upper agitating means comprising aplurality of 'paddle blades rotatable about a horizontal axis above saidlower agitating means. Rotation of the lower agitating means lifts thelead or other heavy portion of the material to be agitated from thebottom of the drum where it is stirred into a generally homogeneousmixture with the oil by the upper agitating means. A cheap and simplyconstructed common drive mechanism is provided whereby both lower andupper agitating means may be rotated together. Our invention constitutesa further improvement over the prior art in that the parts fit togetherand hold themselves in position when the drum is completely assembledwithout using rivets, bolts, or similar fastening means.

Referring now to the drawings, a drum is indicated generally at I0, suchdrum being of the conventional type used to contain paint or similarmaterial, and adapted to contain a relatively large amount of paint orother material to be stirred. The drum includes the generallycylindrical side wall H, the bottom I2 and the top [3. Near the bottomof the side wall ll is the bung hole ll fitted with a threaded stopperor cap I5 so that the paint or other material may be withdrawn from thedrum when desired.

The bottom and top portions l2 and I3 are conventionally secured andsealed to the side wall of the drum by means of the rolled or spun seam,as shown at IS in Fig. 1, such seam extending completely around theperiphery of each of said bottom and top portions. The bracket l1iswelded or otherwise secured near the center of the bottom portion l2,and the bracket [8 is similarly welded or otherwise secured near thecenter of the top portion l3, such brackets each being provided with anopening near the center, and

through the drum to a point adjacent the hole in the top I3. The shaftis thus supported by the brackets I1 and I8, is rotatable in the holesin such brackets, and the upper portion of said vertical shaft isadapted to cooperate with a rotating member, as the crank 2|, shown inFig. 1, which crank is adapted to be placed in operative position whenthe cap i9 is removed from sealing relation.

Adjacent the bottom I2 is the lower agitating means, comprising thetwisted blade 22 which is welded or otherwise secured to the verticalshaft 20 and is adapted to rotate therewith. Such blade is twisted atsuch an angle that upon forward rotation of the handle 2| (forwardrotation in this specification being defined as clockwise rotation whilelooking down on the drum),'the blade 22 rotates adjacent the bottom l2,and the sloping angle of the front face 22a of the blade forces thematerial to be stirred up from the bottom of the drum.

The vertical shaft 20 is encased for a portion of its length by thesheath 23, which sheath is held against rotation by the bracket 24. Suchbracket is welded or otherwise fixedly secured to the upper end of thesheath and has two oppositely disposed upstanding portions whichcooperate with the bracket l8, as shown best in Fig.

3, in such manner that the sheath is heldagainst mounted the multibladedpaddle members 26 and 21, in the particular embodiment of our inventionshown here, although it is to be understood that one such member isgenerally sufficient. The pins 28 extend through holes in the arm oneither side of each paddle member to hold the paddle members in thedesired position on the arm.

In the particular embodiment of our invention which is illustrated inthe drawings eachpaddle member is shown as having four blades arrangedat right angles to each other, such blades. being designated as 26a,26b, 26c, 26d, and as 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d, and each blade has a forwardlyprojecting right angular flange at its outer end,

such flanges being shown in Figs. 3 at 26a, 26b,

tating blade 22 will rotate forwardly about a;

vertical axis, and the arms 30 to 33 inclusive will also rotate and willcooperatewith the multibladed paddle members to rotate such paddlemembers forwardly about the horizontal axis formed by the supportingarm-25. We have found that by using our new agitator alarge drum ofpaint (as for example a 55 gallon drum) may be stirred into a generallyhomogeneous mixture in a fraction of -the time used by any prior artapparatus. i I l Furthermore, our improved agitating apparatus is soconstructed that it may be easily'assembled in a, drum. In assemblingsuch apparatus, the bracket I I may be secured to thebottom 12 and thebottom then aifixed to the drum.;,

The agitating apparatus may then be inserted into the drum, the shaft 20extending through the hole in the bracket l1 and bearing against thebottom l2. Before the top I3 is ailixed to the drum the bracket i8 iswelded or otherwise secured to such top, and the top may then be put onthe drum, the upper portion of the vertical shaft 20 extending throughthe hole in the bracket l8 to hold the agitating apparatus in position,and the bracket 24 cooperating with the bracket 18 to hold the sheathagainst rotation.

While we have shown and described a certain embodiment of our invention,it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications.Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdisclosed in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a container having top and bottom portions, agitating apparatus ofthe character described, including: a rotatable shaft extendingvertically between said top and bottom portions and adapted to berotated by means without the container; first agitating means rotatablewith said shaft about a vertical axis; second agitating means rotatableabout a horizontal axis; means for supporting said second agitatingmeans; and means for rotating said second agitating means upon rotationof the shaft, such rotating means comprising at least one arm carried bysaid shaft and operatively engaging said second agitating means.

2. In a container having top and bottom portions, agitating apparatus ofth character described, including: a rotatable shaft extendingvertically between said top and bottom portions and adapted to berotated by means without the container; lower agitating means rotatablewith said shaft about its vertical axis; a sheath encasing at least aportion of said shaft; upper agitating means supported by said sheathand being rotatable about a horizontal axis above said lower agitatingmeans; means for holding said sheath against rotation; and means forrotating said second agitating means upon rotation of the shaft, suchrotating means comprising at least one arm carried by said shaft andoperatively engaging said upper agitating means.

3. In a container having top and bottom portions, agitating apparatus ofthe character described, including: a rotatable shaft extendingvertically between said top and bottom portions and adapted to berotated by means without the container; bracket means secured to saidtop and bottom portions for supporting and guiding said shaft; loweragitating means adjacent said bottom portion, such means comprising ablade member secured to said shaft and rotatable "therewith, at least aportion of such blade memher being angular to the vertical axis of saidshaft; a sheath encasing at least a portion of said shaft; upperagitating means supported by .said sheath and being rotatable about ahorizontal axis above said lower agitating means; means secured to saidsheath and cooperating with at least a portion of said bracket means forholding the sheath against rotation; and means for rotating said secondagitating means upon rotation of the shaft, such rotating meanscomprising at least one arm carried by said shaft and operativelyengaging said upper agitating means.

4. In a container having top and bottom portions, agitating apparatus ofthe. character described, including: a rotatable shaft extendingvertically between said top and bottom portions and adapted to berotated by means without the container; bracket means secured to saidtop and bottom portions for supporting and guiding said shaft; loweragitating means adjacent said bottom portion, such means comprising ablade member secured to said shaft and rotatable therewith, at least aportion of such blade member being angular to the vertical axis of saidshaft; a sheath encasing the upper portion of said shaft; upperagitating means supported by said sheath, said upper agitating meanscomprising at least one multibladed paddle member rotatable about ahorizontal axis above said lower means, said paddle blades havingforwardly projecting flanges; means secured to said sheath andcooperating with at least a portion of said bracket means for holdingthe sheath against rotation; and means for rotating said secondagitating means upon rotation of the shaft, such rotating meanscomprising at least one arm carried by said shaft and operativelyengaging said upper agitating means.

5. In a drum having a top and bottom agitating apparatus of thecharacter described, ineluding: a rotatable shaft extending verticallybetween said top and bottom portions and adapted to be rotated by meanswithout the container; bracket means secured to said top and bottomportions for supporting and guiding said tom portion, such meanscomprising a blade member secured to said shaft and rotatable therewith,at least a portion of such blade member being angular to the verticalaxis of said shaft; a sheath encasing the upper portion of said shaft;upper agitating means supported by said sheath, said upper agitatingmeans comprising a plurality of multibladed paddles rotatable about ahorizontal axis above said lower means, said paddle blades havingforwardly projecting flanges; means secured to said sheath andcooperating with at least a portion of said bracket means for holding asheath against rotation; and means for rotating said second agitatingmeans upon rotation of the shaft, such rotating means comprising aplurality of arms carried by said shaft and operatively engaging saidpaddle blades.

JOSEPH M. PRYOR.

BRUNO CESCATO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 233,287 Schmidt Oct. 12, 1880989,468 Youlten Apr. 11, 1911 1,096,179 McCall May 12, 1914 1,298,651Boath Apr. 1, 1919 1,621,277 Richman Mar. 15, 1927 1,812,450 SackettJune 30, 1931

